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THE POST WEATHER: Mostly cloudy, chance of rain, high 77 Friday A cloudy with rain and thunderstorms, low 58 INSIDE: Ohio Lottery's Mega Millions tickets go on sale. Read the story PAGE 5. Ann NS, OHIO Tin RsiUY. M o l(i, 2002 Http:, Zthepost.baker.ohiou.edu Apathy plagues Student Senate elections by Nick Juliano and Tim Pappa Staff Writers by Tim Pappa Staff Writer Voter turnout usually below 13% Voter turnout for Ohio University's Student Senate elections has never climbed above 18 percent in the past five years, a trait some OU officials and students attribute to widespread student apathy. The number of students cast ing ballots for Student Senate elections at OU usually hovers between 8 and 13 percent. Turnout hit an unusual high last year with 17.2 per cent of students and a low in 1994 with only 5.8 percent. Voting is low among students in all types of elections, said Michael Burton, OU assistant professor of political science. "A lot of people just don't care," said Burton, who teaches about elections, campaigns and political leadership. "Students are among the worst voters." OU student government has made influential contributions to many of the university's decisions during the past few years but that fact eludes most of the student body, said OU President Robert Glidden in an e-mail message. "Most students do not realize how much influence and importance the student senate has in university affairs," he responded in the e-mail. "(OU administrators) do listen to the Student Senate." Though turnout is usually low at OU, it is not an unusual occur rence at institutions across the stale, said Mike Soslarich, vice president for student affairs. President, HTC senator seats contested Voting stations dot campus today for students to pledge their picks in the 2002 Ohio University Student Senate elections. But with only two positions contested senate president and Honors Tutorial College senator the anticipated voter turnout this spring is questionable, according to an entail message from OU President Robert Glidden. Board of Elections Chairman Merrill Wheeler said he expects at least 2,000 students to vote today hut hopes the turnout will be higher, around 3,000 or more. Elections officials printed 3,000 ballots for today's race. Wheeler said. Last year, about 3,400 votes were cast out of a student population of more than 19,000. "Good citizenship begins with voting, and non-voters have no one to blame but themselves if elected bodies do not seem to represent their views," Glidden responded in an e mail. Students must present their student ID to cast a vote. Once they are signed in. students are required to enter basic information, such as their college and whether they live on or off campus. With the paper bal lots, voters also have the option of writing in a candidate. Each voter will then receive a red stamp on their hand to acknowl edge that they voted that day. If a stu dent is found to have voted more than once, he or she will be turned over to OU judiciaries for further investigation. The Board of Elections did not increase advertising about voting this year because of a tight senate budget and the small number of contested seats. "The problem is even when Polling locations ■ The following stations will be open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.: College Gate Ping Center Baker University Center Bentley Hall corner ■ Voters can also place ballots at all Ohio University dining halls from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. ■ All students must have their Ohio University student IDs as proof of enrollment in order to be eligible to vote. Source: Campus Statt and Post Archives VANESSA DENNIS/ Designer Colliding cultures OU schedule conflicts with religion by Laura Withers Staff Writer Ohio University freshman Leeaht Gross hoped college would provide her with opportunities to explore her Jewish faith and learn more about its history. But after one year on campus, she is considering a transfer. She said OU did not live up to what she had hoped for. and students seemed apathetic toward their faith. "I feel like the Jewish community here is becoming assimilated." Gross Eric I-aFay/ StoffiHtotogntphrr Abdulgadir Alaqeeli prays al the Islamic Center during the final prayer of the day. Some members of the Athens Islamic community have problems sched uling their spiritual events around the university's schedule of classes. For example, many Muslim students enrolled in the Ohio Program of Intensive English have had trouble attending obligatory worship services on Fridays because they take place during their class time. Source: OU Office oi Institutional Research k ALLISON MARfIN/Oesign Editor Break-in reported 'Episode II' brings big crowds, high hopes by Sarah Laubacher, Jen Strawn and Yvonne Teems Staff Writers 2 arrested in incident at Sigma Phi Epsilon house An incident at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house, 24 W. Washington St., resulted in one victim and two arrests Tuesday night. Athens Police Department Lt. Jeff McCall was on duty Tuesday night and responded to the call. "Some intoxicated guys went into the fraternity and caused a fight with some of the residents," he said. "Two were arrested." The victim, an Ohio University sophomore, suffered a cut to the cheek. The victim was treated and released from O'Bleness Memorial Hospital, said Kristi Bonkowski, community relations assistant. The incident report was unavailable at press time. "The members of Sigma Phi Epsilon experienced an incident in our chapter house in which one of our brothers was injured by a group of non-SigEps." said Phil Roush. president of Sigma Phi Epsilon. "Our main concern is for the safety and well being of all our members and the contin ued care of our injured brother. As victims, we have been in contact with all necessary authorities 011 and off campus. If anything, this unfortunate accident has shown the strength and unity of our brotherhood." President of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Alumni Board. John Frazier, said he was very disap pointed in the charges. "The charge was a misdemeanor." he said. "We're going to be following up on that with the county prosecutor. We feel it should've been a greater charge." Frazier said the alumni board's first concern is with the men in the house. "(The members) are doing great," he said. "They're sticking together. I'm really proud of the way they've doubled up. I think this has done nothing but strength en their bond." —Casey Clapper He has seen the movies more than 50 times, knows almost every line and has had his tickets for weeks Jody Mauler is a "Star Wars" super-fan. Last night, a new chapter opened at the box office not only onscreen, but for Mauter as well. "I think it's just an amazing story," Mauter said. "I mean, the thing that 1 guess really got me so hooked is that I kind of lived there too. I'm happy with my life here, but at the same time, if I could be in that universe, thai would be amazing." Mauter, a sophomore criminology major at Ohio University, made a pact with three friends to see every Star Wars movie together. He's going back to his hometown of Canton. Ohio, this Saturday to see "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones" with all of his friends. "(We made this decision during) Episode I on opening night," he said. After that, we said. You know this would be really cool if we could do this for Episode ll' and 'Episode III." While Mauter takes his movie viewing seriously, The Athena Cinema. 20 S. Court St., primed for the opening of "Episode II" just as it would for any other big-name movie, said Marlin Hambrick, president of Classic Theatres. Food orders and staff schedules remain similar to other husy weekends, and additional shows have heen added to this week's lineup. "We're always prepared for busy weekends. We're always fully staffed," Hambrick said. "It's not unusual to have a sellout on any given weekend. We have prepared for a busy weekend." Along with the opening this morning at 12:05 a.m., which was sold out. The Athena added 4 p.m. shows today and Friday. The week day midnight opening is unusual, but the permission for this show time Icnnifer Lull/ St.lffHm^paplrr Star Wars fans wait in line to see the release of "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones" last night at The Athena Cinema, on Court Street Ohio University senior Craig Bontempo, a marine biology major, arrived with a chair at 1 p.m. See VOTING page 6 See APATHY page 6 See RELIGION page 4 See MOVIE page 6

THE POST WEATHER: Mostly cloudy, chance of rain, high 77 Friday A cloudy with rain and thunderstorms, low 58 INSIDE: Ohio Lottery's Mega Millions tickets go on sale. Read the story PAGE 5. Ann NS, OHIO Tin RsiUY. M o l(i, 2002 Http:, Zthepost.baker.ohiou.edu Apathy plagues Student Senate elections by Nick Juliano and Tim Pappa Staff Writers by Tim Pappa Staff Writer Voter turnout usually below 13% Voter turnout for Ohio University's Student Senate elections has never climbed above 18 percent in the past five years, a trait some OU officials and students attribute to widespread student apathy. The number of students cast ing ballots for Student Senate elections at OU usually hovers between 8 and 13 percent. Turnout hit an unusual high last year with 17.2 per cent of students and a low in 1994 with only 5.8 percent. Voting is low among students in all types of elections, said Michael Burton, OU assistant professor of political science. "A lot of people just don't care," said Burton, who teaches about elections, campaigns and political leadership. "Students are among the worst voters." OU student government has made influential contributions to many of the university's decisions during the past few years but that fact eludes most of the student body, said OU President Robert Glidden in an e-mail message. "Most students do not realize how much influence and importance the student senate has in university affairs," he responded in the e-mail. "(OU administrators) do listen to the Student Senate." Though turnout is usually low at OU, it is not an unusual occur rence at institutions across the stale, said Mike Soslarich, vice president for student affairs. President, HTC senator seats contested Voting stations dot campus today for students to pledge their picks in the 2002 Ohio University Student Senate elections. But with only two positions contested senate president and Honors Tutorial College senator the anticipated voter turnout this spring is questionable, according to an entail message from OU President Robert Glidden. Board of Elections Chairman Merrill Wheeler said he expects at least 2,000 students to vote today hut hopes the turnout will be higher, around 3,000 or more. Elections officials printed 3,000 ballots for today's race. Wheeler said. Last year, about 3,400 votes were cast out of a student population of more than 19,000. "Good citizenship begins with voting, and non-voters have no one to blame but themselves if elected bodies do not seem to represent their views," Glidden responded in an e mail. Students must present their student ID to cast a vote. Once they are signed in. students are required to enter basic information, such as their college and whether they live on or off campus. With the paper bal lots, voters also have the option of writing in a candidate. Each voter will then receive a red stamp on their hand to acknowl edge that they voted that day. If a stu dent is found to have voted more than once, he or she will be turned over to OU judiciaries for further investigation. The Board of Elections did not increase advertising about voting this year because of a tight senate budget and the small number of contested seats. "The problem is even when Polling locations ■ The following stations will be open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.: College Gate Ping Center Baker University Center Bentley Hall corner ■ Voters can also place ballots at all Ohio University dining halls from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. ■ All students must have their Ohio University student IDs as proof of enrollment in order to be eligible to vote. Source: Campus Statt and Post Archives VANESSA DENNIS/ Designer Colliding cultures OU schedule conflicts with religion by Laura Withers Staff Writer Ohio University freshman Leeaht Gross hoped college would provide her with opportunities to explore her Jewish faith and learn more about its history. But after one year on campus, she is considering a transfer. She said OU did not live up to what she had hoped for. and students seemed apathetic toward their faith. "I feel like the Jewish community here is becoming assimilated." Gross Eric I-aFay/ StoffiHtotogntphrr Abdulgadir Alaqeeli prays al the Islamic Center during the final prayer of the day. Some members of the Athens Islamic community have problems sched uling their spiritual events around the university's schedule of classes. For example, many Muslim students enrolled in the Ohio Program of Intensive English have had trouble attending obligatory worship services on Fridays because they take place during their class time. Source: OU Office oi Institutional Research k ALLISON MARfIN/Oesign Editor Break-in reported 'Episode II' brings big crowds, high hopes by Sarah Laubacher, Jen Strawn and Yvonne Teems Staff Writers 2 arrested in incident at Sigma Phi Epsilon house An incident at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house, 24 W. Washington St., resulted in one victim and two arrests Tuesday night. Athens Police Department Lt. Jeff McCall was on duty Tuesday night and responded to the call. "Some intoxicated guys went into the fraternity and caused a fight with some of the residents," he said. "Two were arrested." The victim, an Ohio University sophomore, suffered a cut to the cheek. The victim was treated and released from O'Bleness Memorial Hospital, said Kristi Bonkowski, community relations assistant. The incident report was unavailable at press time. "The members of Sigma Phi Epsilon experienced an incident in our chapter house in which one of our brothers was injured by a group of non-SigEps." said Phil Roush. president of Sigma Phi Epsilon. "Our main concern is for the safety and well being of all our members and the contin ued care of our injured brother. As victims, we have been in contact with all necessary authorities 011 and off campus. If anything, this unfortunate accident has shown the strength and unity of our brotherhood." President of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Alumni Board. John Frazier, said he was very disap pointed in the charges. "The charge was a misdemeanor." he said. "We're going to be following up on that with the county prosecutor. We feel it should've been a greater charge." Frazier said the alumni board's first concern is with the men in the house. "(The members) are doing great," he said. "They're sticking together. I'm really proud of the way they've doubled up. I think this has done nothing but strength en their bond." —Casey Clapper He has seen the movies more than 50 times, knows almost every line and has had his tickets for weeks Jody Mauler is a "Star Wars" super-fan. Last night, a new chapter opened at the box office not only onscreen, but for Mauter as well. "I think it's just an amazing story," Mauter said. "I mean, the thing that 1 guess really got me so hooked is that I kind of lived there too. I'm happy with my life here, but at the same time, if I could be in that universe, thai would be amazing." Mauter, a sophomore criminology major at Ohio University, made a pact with three friends to see every Star Wars movie together. He's going back to his hometown of Canton. Ohio, this Saturday to see "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones" with all of his friends. "(We made this decision during) Episode I on opening night," he said. After that, we said. You know this would be really cool if we could do this for Episode ll' and 'Episode III." While Mauter takes his movie viewing seriously, The Athena Cinema. 20 S. Court St., primed for the opening of "Episode II" just as it would for any other big-name movie, said Marlin Hambrick, president of Classic Theatres. Food orders and staff schedules remain similar to other husy weekends, and additional shows have heen added to this week's lineup. "We're always prepared for busy weekends. We're always fully staffed," Hambrick said. "It's not unusual to have a sellout on any given weekend. We have prepared for a busy weekend." Along with the opening this morning at 12:05 a.m., which was sold out. The Athena added 4 p.m. shows today and Friday. The week day midnight opening is unusual, but the permission for this show time Icnnifer Lull/ St.lffHm^paplrr Star Wars fans wait in line to see the release of "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones" last night at The Athena Cinema, on Court Street Ohio University senior Craig Bontempo, a marine biology major, arrived with a chair at 1 p.m. See VOTING page 6 See APATHY page 6 See RELIGION page 4 See MOVIE page 6